(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)PITTSBURGH—The rise of the Democrat Left in Pittsburgh did not happen overnight. The result is a Democratic Party in Pittsburgh that no longer resembles the one that governed here for generations. Gainey would later lose in yet another Democrat primary in 2025, this time to more moderate Democrat Corey O’Connor. But the organizing model had already been developing in places like Pittsburgh and across the broader progressive wing of the Democratic Party. It is that this style of politics—anti-establishment, activist-driven, and organized around primaries—has become a durable force in Democratic contests far beyond Pittsburgh.